Grapple



Jan. 4, 1955 Filed Feb. 6, 1952 G. M. HOLLAND GRAPPLE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR c. M-HOLLAND ATTORNEY J 4, 1955 G. M. HOLLAND 2,698,764

GRAPPLE Filed. Feb. 6, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 3

INVENTOR G. M HOL LAND .4 TTORNEY United States PatentO 2 Claims. (Cl.294-67) This invention relates to grapples, and more particularly tograpples suitable for handling reels.

, In the manufacture of wires and cables, it frequently 7 i is necessaryto transport heavy reels of wire from one factory area to another. Thesides of such reels. are ordlnarily provided with circular flanges, andit is customary to allow the reels to rest on the rims of their flangedsides so that they can be maneuvered along the factory floor to someextent. At other times it may be more desirable to have the reelsresting on one of their flat sides. For example, in some arrangementsfor paying off wire from areel, it is preferred to have the reel restingon one side.

When a reel must be transported from one location to another, the hub ofthe reel'may conveniently be-engaged by a pair of clamping arms of a'grapple supported from some type of overhead conveyor. fore known fortransporting a reel have generally been designed to carry the suspendedreel with the sides thereof in vertical planes, and to pick up anddeposit the reel in that position. Where it is desired to have the reelrest on one of its sides in one location and to rest on the rims of itsflanges in another location, considerable labor has been involved inproperly positioning the reel before or after its travel on an overheadconveyor.

In the manufacture of wires and cables, reels may be employed which,with their contents, may weigh as much as 800 lbs. Consequently, it isnecessary to have mechanical facilities for turning and positioning suchreels, and the apparatus provided for this purpose must be quite sturdy.Various devices are available for rotating the axis of a reel while itrests at the floor level, but heretofore no such device has beenincorporated into a suspended grapple carried by an overhead conveyor.

An object of this invention is to provide new and improved grapples.

A further object of the invention, is to provide new and improvedgrapples suitable for handling reels.

Another object of the invention is to provide new and improved suspendedgrapples for transporting and positioning reels.

A grapple illustrating certain features of the invention may include aframe capable of being suspended, a pair of relatively movable jawscarried by the frame for engaging and supporting a reel, means formoving the jaws toward and away from each other and means for rotatingthe jaws to rotate the axis of a reel carried by the jaws.

A complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from thefollowing detailed description of an apparatus forming a specificembodiment thereof, when read in conjunction with the appended drawings,in which:

Fig. l is a front elevation of a grapple embodying the invention shownengaging a reel;

Fig. 2 is a view corresponding with Fig. l, but with the axis of thereel rotated 90 and the reel resting upon a transfer car, and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation of the grapple in the positionshown in Fig. 2.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, a grapple 10 embodying theinvention is designed to engage a reel 11, the sides of which areprovided with circular flanges 12-12. From a position in which the rimsof the flanges 12-12 rest upon a floor 13, the reel 11 may be elevated,its axis rotated 90", and then the reel may be deposited upon a transfercar 14 with the'flanges 12-12 in a horizontal position. The transfer car14 is The means heretot provided with a plurality of spaced, horizontalrollers 15-15 between which the grapple 10 may enter in depositing orremoving a reel therefrom. The reel may be shoved across these rollersonto a supply stand (not shown) at an operating station in anotherfactory location.

The grapple 10 includes a generally L-shaped frame, having a horizontalleg 16 suspended from a twin hook hoist movable along an overheadconveyor. (not shown) and a vertical leg 17 extending downwardly fromone end of-the horizontal leg 16. Both of these legs are constructed ofspaced, parallel channels suitably joined together. As shown in Figs. 1and 2, a pair of channels 18-18 forming the vertical leg 17 are joinedby a plate 19 at the top of the leg and by another plate 20 at thebottom of the leg. The grapple 10 is suspended from the hoist on theoverhead conveyor by a pair of cables 21-21, which pass around a pair ofsheaves 22-22 journalled near the opposite extremities of the upper leg16 of the grapple. At the juncture of the" legs 16 and 17' there aresecured a pair of handles 23-23 .that an operatorv may grasp in caseit'may become necessaryto swing the grapple slightly away from itsnormal suspended position.

A pair of relatively movable jaws 25-25 together form a generallyU-shaped clamp carried by the vertical leg 17 v of the grapple. The jaws25-25 are slidably engaged by a pair of aligned, similarly threadedshafts 26-26 journalled within a housing 27 secured to a plate 28mounted upon a rotatable hollow shaft 29 which extends between thechannels 18-18 of the vertical leg 17 of the grapple. One end of asecond rotatable shaft 30, which extends concentrically through theaxial center of the shaft 29, is provided with a bevel gear 31 whichmeshes with a pair of bevel gears 32-32 secured to adjacent ends of thethreaded shafts 26-26. By suitably turning a hand wheel 33 secured tothe other end of the shaft 30, both of the jaws 25-25 may be movedtoward or away from each other.

The concentric shafts 29 and 30 are arranged to permit independentrotation of each, the rotation of the shaft 30 serving to cause relativemotion between the jaws 25-25, and the rotation of the shaft 29 beingeffective to rotate these jaws and a reel carried thereby about the axisof this shaft. The rotation of the jaws 25-25 is carried out in steps,since this motion is used only to turn a reel from a position in whichits flanged sides are vertical to a position in which its sides are in ahorizontal plane, and vice versa.

The rotation of the shaft 29 is effected by actuation of a handle 34secured thereto and extending radially outward therefrom. A latch 35pivotally secured to the handle 34 near the outer end thereof isprovided with a spring 36 which is attached to a lug 37 mounted onanother portion of the handle. One end of a rod 38 is pivotally securedto the latch 35, and the other end of the rod 38 is pivotally joined toa pawl 39 pivotally mounted on a lug 40 protruding from the inner end ofthe handle 34. The pawl 39 may selectively engage one of four notches41-41 spaced 90 apart on the periphery of a disc 42 which functions as aratchet surrounding the concentric shafts 29 and 30 and is secured tothe vertical leg 17 of the grapple.

Ordinarily, the shaft 29 is prevented from rotating by the engagement ofthe pawl 39 with one of the notches 41-41. An operator may squeeze thelatch 35 against the end of the handle 34, thereby moving this latcharcuately about a pivot point 44 and raising the pawl 39 away from thenotches on the disc 42. This action permits the handle 34 to be actuatedto rotate the shaft 29 and the jaws 25-25. When squeezing of the latch35 is stopped, the spring 36 through its influence on the latch 35 andthe rod 38 urges the pawl 39 against the periphery of the disc 42, andthe pawl slides along the periphery of the disc until it falls intoengagement with one of the notches 41-41, thereby halting the rotationof the shaft 29. Thus, the rotation of the jaws 25-25 may convenientlybe halted after a 90 turn. When the jaws 25-25 engage a reel, a pair ofconical projections 43-43 carlried by the jaws fit into the hub of andsupport the rec Grapples embodying the invention are admirably suitedfor transportation operations in which a reel must be elevated and theaxis of the reel must be rotated to change therplane in which flangedsides ofthe reel, lie when it i s at rest. Since'both actions anbeperformed by" the samefpiece'ofiequipment, the handling'ofreels" isgreatly facilitated. ,The structure of this grappleis not-complicatd;and it provides a sturdy" and reliablemean's"for eliminating anotherwise'very laboriousoperation.

What is claimed is: V

1.1 A grapple for reels, which comprises a generally L-sh'a'ped framehaving a horizontal leg providedKwith means for sus pending the frameand having a'vertical leg extending downwardly therefrom,- a rotatableshaft mounted liorizontally'o'n the verticaljleg; a pair of threadeamembers carried at one end of said ro'tatable'shaft', a'p'airfofrelatively movable jawsm'ounte'd'on' theth'readed rneinb'ers'anddesign'ed to engage areel hubto support-a reel, means mounted on the"shaft for simultaneously rotating'the threaded members and therebymoving the jaw":towardand awayfrom'eacho'thei', ahandle extendingradially outward from-the shaft for-rotating the shaftto cailse rotationof the axl'sof a reel carii'edby the jaws, a circular "ratchetsecur'edto 'the' vertical legiof thefrarn'e and surf'o'uiidingthe'r'ot'atableshaft, said ratchet havin ,natcnesspma at 90intervalson theperiphery thereof, a pawl mountedpivotlly'onthe inne'riend of saidhandle and associated withthe rotatable shaft for selectivelye'ngagingone of said notchesiwherebyflthe rotation'of the a'xis of the reel-maybehalted-selectively in'horizontal 'and'in' vertical positions, and "alatch mounted' pivotally'o'n the outer endio'f said handleand connectedto the pawl-for actuating the pawl. I

H 2; A grapple for" reels, which comprises a generally L'-sh'aped framehaving a horizontal 1eg provided with means forsuspen'ding the frameandhaving avertieal leg extending downwardly therefrom, a pair ofindependently rotatable concentric shafts extending horizontally throughthe vertical leg of-the frame, a housing mounted beneath the horizontalleg of the frame and secured to an end of one of said concentric shafts,a bevel gear secured to an end of one of said concentric shafts, a pairof aligned similarly threaded'sh'afts rotatably mounted in the housingwith one end of each adjacent to said bevel gear, a pair of bevel gearsone for each shaft secured to the adjacent ends of the'similarlythreaded shafts and in meshing engagement with the first-mentioned bevelgear, a pair of relatively movable: jaws mounted in threaded engagementwith the similarly threaded shafts so that rotation of oneof'saidconcentric shafts simultaneously causes both jaws to move towardand away from each other'and-so'th'atrotation of the other one of saidconcentric shafts causes the jaws to rotate simultaneously about theaxis of the concentric shafts, said jaws having a'pair of conicalprojectionydesigned'to engage a reel hub to" supporta reel,- aiiactuatinghandlesecured to the concentridsl't'aft thatcatlsesr'otation-of the jaws; a cir'ciilar ratchetsecure-Meme vertical leg ofthe fiame-and'surrou'nding the concentric shafts, said ratchet havingnotches spaced at '9'0 intervals on' the periphery thereof, ah'd apawl-pivo'tally a's'sociated'with the h'andle forseleetivelw'e'nga'giri'g one of said notches whereby rotation of'theaxis of a'reelear'rie'd by the jaws may-'be halted selectively inhorizontal and in vertical positions.

Refrences Citd in"thefile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 51633WelImanet'all Aug. 7; 1900 1,047,257 Loubriat' Dec. 17, 1912 1,615,115Du'rhan Jan; 18, 1927

